MATTERS MARIAN - Marian Catholic High School

FACULTY MEMBER AND NOVELIST
RELEASES THIRD BOOK
English and Creative Writing teacher James Conroyd Martin’s third book has
been released. The Warsaw Conspiracy is a historical novel combining features of
the family saga and thriller genres.
Martin’s thirty-year tenure at Marian Catholic started in 1972-1974 when he was
hired as an English teacher of freshmen and sophomores. In 1974 he moved to
California in order to study screenwriting; however, he soon began working on a
novel based on the actual diary of a countess who lived in 1790s Poland. Shortly
after moving back to Chicago, Martin reconnected with Marian in 1985.
Publication came after a long and circuitous road, but the first novel Push Not the
River, sometimes described as a Gone with the Wind set in Poland, met with great
success in 2003 and is in its ninth printing. St. Martin’s Press called for a sequel
and that materialized in 2006 with Against a Crimson Sky, a story highlighting the
Polish lancers’ involvement with Napoleon and his fated march to Moscow. The
translations of both novels became bestsellers in Poland, selling 60,000 copies.
Martin, of Irish and Norwegian descent, has received multiple awards, including
a Gold medal from The American Institute of Polish Culture.
While the third novel completes the trilogy, it stands on its own; one need not
have read the other two to enjoy it.
From the back cover:
Engaging and opulent, The Warsaw Conspiracy unfolds as a family saga set against the November Rising (1830-
1831), partitioned Poland’s daring challenge to the Russian Empire. Brilliantly illustrating the psyche of a people
determined to reclaim independence in the face of monumental odds, the story portrays two brothers and their
fates in love and war. Michał is a seasoned veteran soldier, cautious of the evolving conspiracy; Józef, his much
younger brother and impassioned cadet, finds himself caught up in the vortex of a daring plot to abduct the Grand
Duke of Russia. With Siberia or emigration to France looming as heart-rending contingencies and matriarchs
Anna and Zofia who stay steadfast in their resolve to steer the clan through ever-muddying waters.
Martin maintains that his career as a writer and teacher has been a joy. “Teaching writing is very energizing and
rewarding,” Martin says. “It’s wonderful to witness students pursuing their own talents, along the way discovering
that writing is a skill that has to be honed. It’s gratifying, too, to know that former students have gone on to
achieve publication of their own works.”
Check out The Warsaw Conspiracy online, or request that your favorite bookstore or local library acquire it.
James would be pleased to connect with alumni on his Facebook fan site: https://www.facebook.com/pages/James-Conroyd-Martin/29546357206.
To contact James in order to special order an autographed copy, or just to say hello, e-mail him at JMartin@Marianchs.com.
YOUNG ALUM NOMINATES MICHAEL RAFTERY
FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO OUTSTANDING
EDUCATOR AWARD
Marian Catholic High School English
Advanced Placement teacher, Michael
Raftery, was honored as an Outstanding
Educator by the University of Chicago.
Summer Fields ’12 nominated Raftery for
presenting her with educational opportunities
that challenged and inspired her to pursue
higher education.
The University of Chicago asks incoming
freshmen to nominate an educator who
contributed to the channeling of their
private interests into productive paths for
intellectual growth. Raftery has received the
University of Chicago Outstanding Educator
Award three times in his teaching career. His
first nomination came when he was teaching
at Rich East High School, in Park Forest,
the second from Marian Catholic alum,
Alexander Tolish ’08.
Raftery received his Masters in General
Studies in the Humanities Department
with a focus on literature and history from
the University of Chicago in 1980. Today
he continues to take courses at U of C on
Saturday mornings to ensure he is still
learning, challenged, and growing. His
philosophy as an educator is to provide
students with the tools to think for
themselves, create an arena for discussion,
and to influence youth that literature is not a
problem to solve, but a mystery to explore.
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